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Countries report receiving terrorist threats about Sochi games

SOCHI SECURITY: The organizers of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi have pledged to make the Winter Games “the safest Olympics in history.” Photo: Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s Olympic Committee says it and other nations have received an email message written in Russian and English threatening their athletes with terrorist attacks at the upcoming Sochi Olympic Games.

Secretary General Bence Szabo told the sports daily Nemzeti Sport that the message also urged the Hungarian delegation to stay away from the Winter Games, which run from Feb. 7-23.

Committee President Zsolt Borkai said the threat was being taken seriously and the International Olympic Committee, the Sochi organizers, and Hungarian security forces had been informed.

He told state news wire MTI that other countries’ Olympic committees had also received similar messages. According to Reuters, Germany and Italy are among the other nations who have gotten threats.